[lit-ideas] Re: udinks
- From: "Mike Geary" <atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 10:23:44 -0500
As Stephen Dedalus said to Lynch, "It was a great day for European culture when
you made up your mind to curse in yellow." Perhaps, likewise, it was a great
day for American culture when Oregonians declared "dink" a curse word. But for
some reason I just can't get my mind around Cheney saying "Dink you" to Leahy.
Mike Geary
dinking the time away
in Memphis
----- Original Message -----
From: Julie Krueger
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 3:23 AM
Subject: [lit-ideas] udinks
First I've heard of "dink" being *any* kind of word.... has this simply
escaped my attention? Is it known to everyone who lives on this planet but me?
Julie Krueger
Family's license plates deemed offensive
Mon Sep 24, 10:18 PM ET
The state of Oregon has ordered a family to turn in the vanity license plates
on its cars because their Dutch last name, which is written on the plates, is
similar to an offensive word.
The plates, UDINK1 UDINK2 and UDINK3 are on the vehicles of Mike and Shelly
Udink and their son Kalei. Two of the plates are five and seven years old. One
was issued last year.
Last summer, Kawika Udink's application for UDINK4 was rejected and the state
ordered that the other three plates be returned.
"DINK has several derogatory meanings," Yvonne Bell, who sits on the
Department of Motorvehicles panel that approves vanity plates, told the Daily
Courier newspaper.
DMV spokesman David House and Bell said the word can be treated as a verb,
which gives it a sexual reference, and also can be a racial slur targeted at
the Vietnamese.
House said the "U" in the front could be construed as "You."
The DMV denies requests for any combination of letters and numbers that may
be viewed as objectionable, in any language, by use of phonetic, numeric or
reverse spelling, or when viewed as a mirror image, or that would alarm or
offend a reasonable person.
Intimate body parts or sexual or bodily functions are taboo, as are offensive
references to race, color, gender, ethnic heritage, or national origin or to
alcohol or drugs or paraphernalia.
The panel's ruling surprised Mike Udink, whose name is Dutch. He says it is a
common last name in The Netherlands.
"Since when can a panel dictate whether your name's offensive or not?" asked
Udink, a lineman for Pacific Power.
House said the state has the right to censor license plates, because the
state owns them.
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